Ten water meters were vandalised in Huntly overnight on Friday, which the council said had an “immense” impact on the town’s drinking water network.
Waikato District Council said it appeared the lids were lifted and a chain tied to the meters to rip them out using a vehicle.
In some cases the backflow pipes were also ripped out.
Waikato District Council waters manager Keith Martin said on Saturday morning Watercare engineers noted that treated water levels in Kimihia reservoir in Huntly were dropping at an alarming rate.
Staff rushed to the damaged sites, with two locations with 50mm pipes of particular concern due to the high pressure the pipes are under.
“As well as the meters themselves, the backflow pipes were ripped out, and with pipes this size it’s like a fire hydrant being opened and the volume of treated water lost is huge,” he said.
It had an “immense” impact on the town’s water network.
The reservoir level went down as low as 20%, below the normal 80% level.
“If you think about people who may be on dialysis or families with babies, it is the vulnerable members of our communities that were put at real risk.”
As well as water shortages and a loss of water, the damage could have caused pressure and quality issues.
“So, there’s a big cost impact, and simply a waste of a precious resource,” Martin said.
“We’ve put a conservative estimate of a loss of 750 cubic litres of treated water wasted – that’s 750,000 litres. The cost of water treatment of that water is quite literally money down the drain, which is paid for by ratepayers.”
The council was concerned its property was being targeted.
“We just can’t figure out the motivation behind this, it’s baffling and not something we’ve come across before at this scale.”
“If it is motivated by a dispute or something it means that it is even more worrying because these people planned this and may understand the impact of what they are doing to the detriment of the good people of Huntly and the ratepayer in general.
“People may laugh and think Council will pay for it, but in reality it’s the ratepayers that who pay for it.”
The council has filed a report with the police and is closely monitoring the network.
Police are appealing for information following the incident.
“We would like to hear from anyone with information that could assist our enquiries, including any reports of suspicious behaviour around the Huntly area over the weekend.”
Anyone with information has been asked to contact police on 105 or online.